


Something New, Something Blue

by gomushroom



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: shoexchange, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 01:24:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10451862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gomushroom/pseuds/gomushroom
Summary: Sho has absolutely no intention to be in a relationship—solely focusing on his newscaster career and all—but Ohno-Sensei can be very patient and relentless.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 2017 shoexchange. 
> 
> I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to spread my Yama wings, so here's a lengthy LDR-ish themed get-together AU, with some inspirations from _News Zero_ , _Sekamuzu_ , and _Nazodi_. This also started with shilriarizz's prompt, like omg three years ago, of _"newbie journalist Sakurai Sho gets his first assignment "The Most Eligible Bachelor: Ohno Satoshi"_. Thank you! 
> 
> I just have lots and lots and _lots_ of Sho feels all through January. And, lastly, many thanks to my beta for all the help!

Okada is already waiting when Sho reaches the room, with a large grin on his face. “Sho! I see Kitayama-san briefed you already.”

“Don’t ‘Sho’ me! What were you thinking with this shift of assignment?” Sho grumbles. At least Okada has readied two cups of coffee, and Sho doesn’t even bother to excuse himself as he takes a seat across Okada and dumps all the paper he’s been carrying on the table. “This is not a good idea.”

“I did throw that suggestion on the table.” Okada takes his seat again, with a chuckle. “But of course, I didn’t just agree on this lightly.”

“I’m only here because Kitayama-san said so. This is out of my league so I suppose you need to brief me properly on this.” Sho takes deep breath, as realization of the new assignment complexity begins to sink into him. “This is just another reporting job. This is _just_ another reporting job, so it’d be fine.”

“And we can spend some extra time together this afternoon. Bonus for us,” Okada says, clapping his hands and nodding approvingly. 

“Oh, for god’s sake, can we just focus on the assignment right now?”

Okada grins widely. “I can focus and enjoy the time I spend with you all the same, Sho.”

“I said don’t ‘Sho’ me,” Sho says curtly, before sighing. He needs Okada for this. “I do appreciate all the help I can have right now.”

“I already made a list of the basics,” Okada says as he slides a thumb drive and a file folder across the desk. “You should get all the basic personal information. I also put together several important features about Ohno-sensei from few years back. There’s nothing much really, except for his exhibitions coverage.”

Sho sets the thumb drive aside and starts to open the folder. Inside he finds few printed copies of newspaper headlines and website headlines. “I haven’t heard much about him.”

“He’s been dubbed the next renowned Japanese artist after Yoshimoto Nara,” Okada continues. “That’s like a huge compliment, even if I think the man himself is not really interested in the glory and the whole thing. Most artists aren’t anyway.”

Sho nods, making notes on his tablet, plugging in the thumb drive and finding a folder filled with documents.

Okada leans forward with a grin. “You know who Yoshimoto Nara-Sensei is, right?”

“I do,” Sho says quickly. “No more than general public knowledge but I’ll know more by tomorrow.”

“That’s the spirit. I might bring you some souvenirs from LA. Along with a photo with Cameron Diaz if I can manage it.”

“Oh, shut up,” Sho says, rolling his eyes half-heartedly, his focus already on the file he’s found. “You sure this is okay with you? I don’t mean to be ungrateful, because this has been more than enough for background search. Am I taking too much credit for your work?”

“This was actually scheduled for two months back, so I did my homework thoroughly,” Okada says, skimming at the folder Sho has left open. “It was when he was announced as the Tokyo Olympic logo designer.”

"I read that on Kitayama-san’s proposal brief. Maybe it would be another approach if I focus on his future work for the Olympics?”

Okada scratches his chin, considering. “That might work better for you, right? Why not, I’ll say.”

Sho begins to tap some of his notes, initial thoughts, knowing that he will need to do more research regardless. “Are you sure I can use all of this? This is basically your work.”

Okada’s serious expression melts back to an easy teasing grin. “For you, Sho, I basically have no objection.”

Sho considers throwing a pen or even the folder back to Okada’s direction but that would spur the man on more. He holds his head comically high and strides out the room instead. It is only after he hears Okada’s loud laugh behind him, that he allows himself to roll his eyes. 

 

 

Sho wipes his sweaty palms on his trousers, shifting in his seat as they wait for the first camera test on the guest quarter of the Roppongi Art Exhibition Center.

He didn’t get a good night’s sleep last night, mostly cramming and trying to get as much information on Ohno Satoshi as possible. It doesn’t help that the newsroom is having the departmental monthly meeting this morning, meaning that he couldn’t have a quiet morning to continue his research.

He mumbles quietly, practicing several of his planned questions. He decided to ditch most of Okada’s questions last night since they are too technical and detailed. They are perfect for Culture coverage but Sho is not here to do Culture coverage. His Ichimen segment covers different viewpoints of topics and with Kitayama-san’s approval of his early draft, Sho can only wait for the actual interview to find out if his strategy works.

There’s a distant sound of commotion and Sho straightens himself, setting his notes aside. From the corner a man with a sharp suit appears, bowing to the crew politely before he continues to walk toward Sho. 

Sho frowns in confusion because he is sure that this man is not Ohno Satoshi—or perhaps his official photographs don’t do him justice at all. He turns to aim a silent question to his producer assistant next to him, and receives a shrug.

The man only smiles when he’s stopped in front of Sho, extending his hand for a handshake. “Sakurai Sho-san, nice to meet you.”

Sho nods politely and accepts the hand. “Nice to meet you. Sensei?”

“I’d rather not be him if I can help it.” The man smirks playfully before stepping aside, revealing another man wearing an amused expression aimed straight at Sho. “ _This_ is Ohno-Sensei.”

Sho meets Ohno’s gaze. Flush rises up on his cheeks, and he wants to blame it on his earlier mistake, but the man in front of him smiles and Sho can barely remember to breathe.

Ohno seems to see the glaze in Sho’s eyes because his smile widens charmingly, eyes crinkled in pure amusement. He takes another moment to look at Sho before greeting softly, “Sakurai Sho-kun, it’s a pleasure.”

Sho finds his mouth forming a soft smile and blinks a few times in daze. Ohno’s hand is holding his, warm and firm. It is the shake of Ohno’s hand that finally shakes some senses into him. 

“Ohno-Sensei,” Sho says, finding his voice a bit rough. “The pleasure is all mine.”

Ohno lets a cute chuckle before he says, “I hope I’m not late?”

Sho’s producer takes a step forward and begins to explain the technical arrangement. Sho is immensely grateful for it because he cannot stop staring at the man in front of him; there’s some warmth, amusement, and—if Sho’s reading him correctly—interest.

Ohno throws him a final smile before being ushered to do a quick makeup and wardrobe change. 

Sho gives himself another shake of head before taking a step back. At the corner of his eyes, he can make out the first man with the suit watching him with interest. He turns to greet the man, intending to apologize for his mistake earlier when the man introduces himself instead. 

“Ninomiya, his manager.”

Sho bows lightly before taking the offered hand, “I apologize for my mistake earlier, Ninomiya-san.”

Ninomiya chuckles at Sho’s formality. “No problem. I suppose that would be the last time you mistake Sensei for me.”

The comment is very off hand yet it sounds almost like a friend teasing another and Sho is a bit confused about that. “Pardon?”

Ninomiya only smiles wider before bowing to take his leave. 

Not long after, Ohno returns to the set and is directed to sit in front of Sho. As usual, the team will do some tests while Sho tries to work with the questions and plan for the interview together. 

“We can skim through the questions first, one by one, if you want, Sensei,” Sho says when they both are cleared by their stylist. 

“I trust you with that,” Ohno replies. “It’s just I’m not really good at explaining my work.”

There’s something in the soft voice that makes Sho smiles. Some of his interviewees tend to get nervous on set, trying to cover their nervousness by mindless chatting and jokes. Some of his other interviewees get really quiet and reserved when the set lighting is on. Ohno Satoshi is neither. The man calmly sits in a slight slouch, displaying quiet manners yet expressing his worry openly, in a soft voice, melodious and gentle. 

“I’m not really good at art feature myself,” Sho says encouragingly, his fingers unconsciously pinching the hem of his trousers. “Let me just quickly go through the questions we’ve planned then. We are not going to use all of them. You can just start to tell me about your upcoming exhibition, and I will make adjustments as we go.”

Ohno nods and says, “I’ll trust you with that.”

 

 

They work around the usual beginning of an interview, with Sho leading the talk about the exhibition details and Ohno responding quite smoothly. They spend the first 10 minutes rather aimlessly—as Sho likes to call it the warming up—before Sho finally starts his important questions.

“Sensei, many of young people consider your art highly, with distinguished rawness and unique quality. Some of them even take you as their source of inspiration and refer you as a contemporary Japan art figure.”

Ohno chuckles sheepishly—and Sho knows the viewer can see the blush on the man’s cheeks, a sign of a good right-on-the-mark question. “I am just doing what I want to do. In a way, it is a selfish act.”

“But isn’t it from such selfishness that great art is born?”

“Great art, huh?” For a moment Ohno looks like he’s in deep thought.

Sho was about to dive into another question when he senses something more, something else that Ohno wants to say. He stays quiet, and gives an encouraging nod. There’s a few seconds pause and Sho begins to worry but his patience finally pays off. 

“What is great art, really?” Ohno begins. He’s still wearing the same dreamy expression. “I personally don’t think I am creating great art. Art is not great. Art is just art.” 

Sho leans just a tad forward to silently encourage Ohno. 

Ohno gets the silent hint somehow, because his lips are curling slightly in appreciation. “I work on things I want to work on and then people label them as art because they like what they see, what they feel when they see. Artists don’t decide if their works are art or not. We just create something that we wanted to create.”

Sho gives a nod and a soft hum.

“That’s selfish, right? I said it before and I’ll say it again, we artists are selfish. Sometimes we are so absorbed into our creations that we forget about those who will see our works. But as you keep on working on something that you like, as you keep on drawing, painting, you end up wanting to create more. And you then realize that you cannot forget those who will see our works because an artist is only able to create more when there is appreciation from people who like what they see, from people who will label my work as art.”

Sho finds himself unable to take his eyes off of the man in front of him. Gone is the quiet Ohno Satoshi from minutes ago along with the fiery speech of his existence. 

Ohno takes a deep breath as if talking out this much has tired him out. The complete silent on set is gripping but everyone knows that Ohno is far from finished.

“I don’t know about being an art figure or an inspiration but I know that what I have right now is a privilege to create more. I’m grateful to the people who enjoy my creation. I’m extremely grateful. They are one of the reasons that I’m able to do this. And in a full circle, they are one of the reasons I want to continue to work and create art.” 

Sho doesn’t say anything else. He doesn’t trust himself to say anything else. It was a beautiful answer, worth every second of waiting and encouraging, and Sho knows that this part is the one that’s going to be on air, in its entirety.

Sho is one second away from calling a cut and moving on to the next question when Ohno shifts in his seat, looking straight into Sho’s eyes, and adds more, “You were partially right.” 

Sho barely manages to keep his surprise in. “I was?”

“I was terrible at drawing when I was in school and I wanted to get better. I wanted to do more. And now I am still drawing, heedless of being better or not—I’m still doing what I want. So, you were right. Art _is_ born from selfishness.”

Sho has to fight the urge to look down, both to pretend to look at his notes and hide his proud grin. He settles for the best closing question he could think of in order to wrap this part neatly with a small smile. “Therefore, great art is born from great selfishness?”

Ohno laughs and Sho allows himself to chuckle along with the man. The interview may have few more extended questions but Sho knows that they have gotten the best part of the interview, the best sound bites, and that exact expression from Ohno to feature in his Ichimen screen Monday night next month.

 

 

Okada corners Sho after the night briefing, still clad in his fancy suit from the live broadcast. “You did amazingly well for someone who’s art-blind.”

Sho on the other hand has lost his suit jacket and in the middle of taking off his tie. They are clearing the meeting room at a slow pace, only several interns still gathering the unused proposal in the background.

“I might be art-blind, but I did my best,” Sho shrugs at the concealed praise.

“Nevertheless, it was a great interview. I’ll give you that.” 

Okada can be a jerk. Okada can be pushy and flirty when Sho is concerned. But, Okada is also one of the best casters and Sho respects hard work and well earned reputation. At least he knows that Okada’s praises are rare and now he’s receiving one of them.

“Thank you,” Sho says, grinning. “Still, I regret nothing about not including part of your research in the interview.”

“You’re just sly enough to use your lack of knowledge as your weapon. That was a good tactic to get Sensei to talk more on his art. His previous interviews were never able to get him to talk that much.”

Sho smiles pleasantly. He’s really proud of himself. “That’s basically how Ichimen works, to provide information without sounding too condescending for those who don’t know. We’re just common people.”

Okada stares at him with a mixture of what Sho reads as amusement and acknowledgement. “How about dinner to celebrate tonight? On me.”

Sho rolls his eyes, because he should have seen this one coming. “Which would be, in your dictionary, called a date?”

Okada grins. “That’s why I like you, Sho. You’re very smart.”

“I’ll pass,” Sho says, waving his hand in dismissal. “I’m after all smart enough not to make the same mistake twice.”

“Ouch,” Okada says, clutching his chest dramatically before laughing. “If only I can get you drunk enough again, I bet we can—”

His phone rings and Sho thanks the heavens above for the welcome distraction. He doesn’t even glimpse on the screen as he walks out from the hallway to head back to his cubicle with a wave. “I need to take this. Thanks again for everything.”

Around the corner of his cubicle Sho stares at the caller ID. A unknown number? At this hour? Sho wants nothing but a hot meal, cold beer, and some peace and quiet to wind down from a long day and the thought of receiving a last-minute assignment is dreadful but he decides to answer anyway.

“Hello?”

There’s a sound of paper rustling on the other side of the line before a voice greets him. “Sho-kun?”

Sho tries to place the voice since the sound is familiar. Nothing comes for few seconds until he sighs his answer, “Yes?”

“This is Ohno Satoshi.”

Sho manages to cover his mouth just in time to cover his surprised gasp. He tries to flip his mental files to remember what had happened at the end of the interview day as he takes a seat at his desk: Ohno shook his hand a moment too long while his producer and Ninomiya exchanged contact details. They parted with a promise to stay in contact at least until the airing date of the interview. 

Ohno speaks again, “Is it a bad time to talk?”

“Yes, Ah. Sorry.” Sho answers one second too quick before flinching at his own stutter. “I’m sorry. No. I mean, yes this is a good time. I was just surprised, that’s all.” 

There’s a soft chuckle from the other end of the line and it doesn’t help Sho to get his sense back. “Ohno-Sensei, how can I help you?” Sho finally says, without stuttering this time. 

“I saw the coverage, your Ichimen corner. It was good.”

Sho smiles on the praise; he is always eager to hear back from his interviewees. Even if he doesn’t have full control over how the program will edit his feature, he always makes sure to provide his best work. It also sends a rush of pleasant shivers to hear Ohno’s voicing his praise in a warm voice.

“Thank you. I’ve received some very good feedback so far. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“I’m glad,” Ohno says on the other line. “I’m also calling to invite you to the closing tomorrow. I hope you can stop by the hall since you said you would be interested in seeing the exhibition.”

He finds himself smiling, glad that Ohno still remembers Sho’s comments when they walked around the exhibition space after the interview last month, that Ohno still remembers his promise to invite Sho later for the real exhibition.

“That’s very kind of you, Sensei.”

Ohno’s voice is soft with an apparent hint of nervousness when he speaks next. “I want to see you again.” 

Sho feels a rush of pleasant warmth running up his cheeks. He stays silent for a few moment; words have completely failed him this time. Ohno on the other side of the line doesn’t seem to be disturbed with Sho’s silence, waiting patiently for a response. Sho quickly runs his choices through his head; he does want to see the exhibition at a much more leisurely pace. He allows himself to smile, since no one is around, knowing that Ohno is calling him to invite him personally.

There was indeed something in the air at the day of the interview, of distant promises, something that Sho needs to make sure of by meeting Ohno again.

“Then I’d be glad to accept the invitation,” Sho finally says.

 

 

Now that he has thought about the invitation more carefully, Sho can’t help to be a little bit confused. 

Ohno asked him to come over around 1AM, which is very considerate since Sho only got off work after midnight. All day, Sho has been feeling some sort of excitement because he gets to see Ohno again. This will be a meeting to catch up on things that they didn't talk about during the interview, Sho says to himself, but underneath it all he cannot lie to himself and say that he doesn’t expect more.

When the production meeting wraps slightly after midnight, Sho quickly excuses himself. He flags a taxi and heads for Roppongi Exhibition Hall, only to arrive at a quiet entrance. Standing clueless at the front lobby, he tries to remember his conversation with Ohno, searching for the missed details: was he supposed to go somewhere when he got here?

He’s about to take out his phone and contact Ohno when someone appears from the other side of the glass door. Ninomiya waves cheerfully at him. “Sakurai-san. Please wait just one moment.”

Sho bows his greeting and does so.

“Come right in. It’s freezing out there.” Ninomiya smiles politely, opening the door for Sho to go through before locking it securely again when Sho steps inside. 

“Nice to see you again, Ninomiya-san. I hope I’m not bothering anything—“ Sho says as he unwraps his scarf and takes off his coat.

“Not at all. Sensei has already called in about you.” The man turns and flashes another of his smile at Sho. “If you’d just follow me, he’s waiting for you at the exhibition hall.”

With his scarf and coat now folded on his arm, Sho nods and follows Ninomiya inside.

The gallery is different somehow. All the arrangement is still the same from when Sho visited for the filming few weeks ago but there’s a sense of finality. Ohno is standing in the middle of the empty exhibition halls, dreamily musing over something. He notices Sho and Ninomiya and lets out an excited, “Sho-kun.” 

Sho bows his greeting, and can’t help but smile at the sound of Ohno’s tone. “Good evening, Sensei.”

Ohno guides Sho to the far end of the hall to start his tour, while Ninomiya quietly excuses himself.

Sho starts slowly, taking his time and carefully examining details of mini sculptures lined up in the showcase or frowning with concentration in front of a painting. “I feel like I missed a lot by not making time to go during the exhibition.”

“But you are here now and that's what matters.” Ohno has been watching Sho’s reaction subtly. “There’s no need for us to be formal with each other, don’t you think?”

Sho catches the meaning behind the question but only nods. 

“You’re not wearing a suit today,” Ohno says.

They are already on the last row of the displays and suddenly Sho becomes conscious of his clothes. He’d gone to the office today in less formal attire since there were no scheduled meetings with the higher ups, only wearing cargo pants and a simple dress shirt. So after the broadcast, he was more than glad to change back into the comfortable clothes. He just didn’t realize that Ohno might notice or comment on it.

“I wasn’t expecting to attend anything formal today,” Sho says, with an apologetic nod.

“I like seeing you outside your fine suits. It’s like seeing someone else,” Ohno says with a chuckle. “I mean it in a good way, of course.” 

Sho turns to his side and meets Ohno’s gaze with a smile. Along the way through the exhibition, Ohno has been quiet most of the time but everything that he's said has been laced with extra meaning. There’s nervousness in the air, Sho realizes, not only from his side but also from Ohno’s. 

“Now, I’m just rambling.”

The sight of Ohno’s scratching his head in confusion is so endearing Sho can't help but let out a laugh. “It’s alright.”

“Maybe I’m nervous, because…” Ohno steps aside wordlessly to allow Sho to turn his attention back to the row of paintings. With a shy smile, Ohno points out the last painting in the row, which catches Sho’s attention immediately.

He walks towards the space to get a better look. _silver sixpence_ , the title plate says. The large canvas has crazy clashes of colors, small dots in dollops of black paint with ardent immense red splashes and streaks of violent waves in the true colors of the sea. Such is the intensity of the painting, Sho wants so much to reach out to feel its texture and bound energy. 

“Go ahead,” Ohno says.

Sho turns in surprise not only that Ohno sounds very amused but also that his hand is already moving towards the painting. “I didn't mean—“

“I won't tell Nino, and I'm sure the artist wouldn't mind.”

Sho reaches out to touch and startles when he finds the bumps on the right side are soft to the touch and bouncy when he tries to press them lightly. “Oh?”

Ohno lets out a chuckle at Sho’s concentration and amusement. “It has air bubbles in it so it's a bit spongy.”

“Feels funny.”

Ohno laughs this time. “Well, no one is supposed to touch them.”

“Ah I’m sorry I didn't mean this is bad, just the texture is a bit strange for me.“

Ohno is smiling. “That's okay. Compliments are always welcome.”

Ohno falls silent again and now Sho begins to run his fingers on the other side of the painting, tracing the turbulent splashes and streaks. It screams power with so much elegance, with so much life in it, completely different from all the other paintings on the same row. 

In fact, Sho realizes that the painting is completely different from all the art pieces in the entire exhibition hall. The sculptures were dark clay of sad and serious people. The fabric prints were earth toned and gloomy. The other paintings were in monochrome. And then there’s this last piece.

“This is different,” Sho says, muttering his guess as he turns to Ohno. “This is new.”

“Yes.” Ohno nods. “I just finished this last week.”

Sho finds himself smiling too. “So this not an actual part of the exhibition?”

“I started this the day after the interview,” Ohno says. “The day I met you. And I invited you because I want to show you this.”

Sho’s warm smile slowly turns into disbelief expression before ended up in a full bafflement. “Huh?”

A beautiful smile spreads in Ohno’s face, showing mixture of pride and fondness. “I painted this for you.”

“What?” Sho wants to hold off everything because now there’s too much information to process at a very short time. Ohno is still smiling patiently, waiting, and Sho’s mind is buzzing with all sorts of conclusions all at once. He turns to see the painting, under a different light now.

From the day they met, Sho is fully aware that along with Ohno’s extended gazes there was interest; along with Ohno’s invitation there was anticipation, and now after Ohno plainly poses his ultimate question, his confession, in form of large colorful painting in his public art exhibition, Sho is rendered speechless.

Ohno takes a step forward and closing their distance. A fleeting touch of his hand runs down Sho’s arm and speaks softly. “Too much?”

“More like too sudden.” Sho shakes his head before sighing with a smile. Warmth fills his chest and has him smiling. “I totally didn’t see it coming.”

“Neither did I,” Ohno says with a chuckle. “Now, have you eaten? Because if you haven’t, I want to take you for a late supper.”

Sho chuckles at the sudden invitation. He’s barely finished processing the confession and now this. “Are you always this direct?”

“When I need to be.” Ohno’s grin is easy and charming. “So?”

“Okay,“ Sho says with a slow nod. He still hasn’t figured out what has just happened, but spending more time with Ohno might give him the space and time he needs to recover and inquire.

“Great. Let me call Aiba-chan and then we can go.”

 

 

Ohno guides Sho to the front lobby, where Ninomiya is already waiting along with a sleek sedan with a chauffeur. 

Ninomiya grins knowingly at Sho but doesn’t comment on anything. The man talks briefly with Ohno before Aiba opens the back door for them and they wave Ninomiya goodnight. 

In only a short drive, Aiba takes them to a small alley and stops in front of what looks like an ordinary house. Sho gets off the car first and catches the small banner nearly hidden near the sliding door entrance. 

“I’ll text you when we’re done, Aiba-chan.” Ohno says as he slides out the car. 

“Yes, Sir.”

Ohno steps out next to Sho and joins him. “Shall we then?”

The owner greets Ohno with a smile and without delay leads them to the end of the bar counter.

“Our recommended menu tonight is our special _kimchi nabe_.” She stands behind the counter, setting their wet towels in front of them. “We have some other dishes if you have anything particular you want tonight.”

Ohno only turns to ask Sho silently for his preferred choice. 

“ _Kimchi nabe_ sounds perfect,” Sho says offering a smile to both Ohno and the owner. “With a glass of beer, please.”

“And one for me, too.”

She notes down their order before heading to the kitchen. Before long she returns with two glasses of cold beer and a plate of appetizers. After she leaves for the kitchen to deal with the rest of their order, Ohno raises his glass and Sho joins him for a toast.

“Thank you for inviting me tonight,” Sho says with a satisfied sigh when he has already taken the first long gulps.

Ohno sets his glass in front of him before turning to Sho. “And thank you for accepting my invitation even after a long day of work.”

“Not at all.”

They sit in silence for a while before the woman begins to arrange the small stove and all. When their order arrives Sho realizes how hungry he is as his stomach grumbles in delight.

“Ah,” Sho says, a bit embarrassed.

Ohno only shrugs. “Let’s dig in. And here, let me.”

Sho watches Ohno takes a bowl into his hand and tries to scoop a serving. The awkward and careful gestures are pretty telling, and Sho finally relaxes for the first time in Ohno’s company tonight. “You are not used to doing this, right?”

“You can say that,” Ohno says as he smiles sheepishly, nearly spilling the broth when he tries to balance them over the hot pot.

Sho realizes that the answer to his question can also mean something else; of not being used to ladle the soup and ready a serving for others or of not being used to have this kind of ‘date’ with someone else. With a flush riding up his cheeks Sho mumbles his thanks.

Ohno says their grace quietly, gesturing Sho to begin and then begins to partake. Hot comforting food soon becomes their sole focus. 

Sho has to hold in his satisfied moans as he slurps the remainder of the broth in his bowl. He gives a small smile before scooping another serving himself. “This is good. This is very good.”

Ohno smiles back and nods with his mouth full, even as his pace slows. He takes slower bites now as he takes interest in watching Sho eat. “If I knew you were this hungry, we should have gone straight to dinner instead of roaming around the exhibition hall leisurely.”

“I had early dinner but it was hours ago.”

“Oh, before the broadcast?”

“Yes,” Sho says. He pauses a bit to properly swallow before continuing. “We usually have one hour break after 6 PM, and I usually had small portions of dinner. You wouldn’t want to be too stuffed because we will have another meeting and camera test and—”

Ohno raises his eyebrows at Sho’s trailing off explanation, and encourages Sho to continue, “And?”

Sho eyes him with a question, finally setting his bowl down. He takes a few sips of beer to reorganize his thoughts before he continues. “I was going to tell you about my day before I realize that you might not be interested in hearing about it.”

“I’m interested.” 

Sho chuckles at the over excited expression Ohno is wearing now. “It seems like you are.”

“I like listening to you,” Ohno says, smiling warmly. “After all you have listened to me.”

“That was the interview,” Sho says before adding. “You meant the interview right?” He wants to believe that they are not only talking about Ohno’s interest in listening Sho’s story about his day but also something else, something more.

“Yes. But I didn’t mean only the interview.” Ohno’s reply is confident enough for both of them. The way he looks at Sho is focused and comfortable, sending Sho some reassurance that there might be something else, something more indeed.

“Is that so?”

Ohno nods. “I don’t take random people for private viewing of my exhibition or even on a supper date.”

Sho has to look away to hide his smile. So this is a planned date, and he is getting special treatment in a way. To be honest with himself, Sho is also interested and curious of how it might work out between them; all the possibilities are spinning on his mind.

When Ohno speaks next, his voice is clear and sure. “I want to see you again, Sho-kun.”

Sho reaches his glass and takes a few sips to calm his rapid heartbeat. Ohno is not pushing him into anything but he must admit he wants to see the man again. While it might be too early to tell what it is between them right now, Sho knows that there is something; if not interest, at least curiosity. 

“I am interested, very interested,” Sho begins. 

Ohno tilts his head to the side, not interrupting but looking hopeful all the same. 

Sho lets out a small laugh. “But I’m busy. I’m always busy. I have assignments and most of them require me to travel. My work hours are different from normal people.” 

“I don’t think I would say I’m normal either. I can be very detached when I’m working. Or so people around me keep on reminding me,” Ohno says with a chuckle. “I also travel and I’m known to be terrible at replying to messages. Or so the people around me keep on reminding me.”

“I don’t think it’s advisable to start anything between us.” Sho sighs at his own words. “I’m not good company most of the time.”

Ohno’s eyes grow wider in surprise at the words before he relaxes as he catches Sho’s smile. “Aren’t you now?”

“But I also want to see you again,” Sho quickly adds, in softer voice. Just as the words left his mouth, Sho feels the rush of excitement going through him. This is a bad idea. Ohno is asking for them to have a better reason to keep seeing each other. If Ohno is asking that means he is willing to try; Sho is willing to try, even if he is completely not confident where this is going. So, maybe it’s actually not such a bad idea. 

Sho shifts in his seat before looking up and finds Ohno’s eyes, finding hopeful glimmers and patient understanding. They would need to try their best because this is not going to be easy. He takes a deep breath before closing his eyes, and repeats, “I want to see you again if you’ll let me.”

Ohno’s smile spreads over his face, crinkling eyes and soft laugh lines. He looks so happy and Sho cannot help to smile as he can clearly see, despite the low lighting, that the tips of Ohno’s ears are turning red. 

Ohno nods and says nothing else, his hand reaching out to touch the tips of Sho’s fingers on the table in a fleeting brush.

 

 

“Let Aiba drive you home,” Ohno says as they are waiting for Aiba to come around with the car.

Sho could only blinks in surprise. It’s late but he can always grab a taxi. He is sure that his apartment is not very far from the restaurant. “Are you sure?”

“I was the one who suggested for us to have late supper. It’s only right if I take you home afterwards.”

When they are back in the warmth of the car, Ohno asks for Sho to give his address to Aiba. And then spend the whole ride home in silence. So what now? Sho likes the silence and the way Ohno is just slouched lazily beside him, but what now? Sho doesn't know or isn't brave enough to ask, so he clings to the shared quiet moment between them.

“Here’s fine, Aiba-san,” Sho says when Aiba makes the turn to the front of his apartment. The car pulls over a bit far from the gate and Sho gathers his bag turning to thank Ohno for the night.

But, Ohno grips his hand lightly, holding Sho on his seat, and says, “Aiba-chan, step out of the car for a moment.” 

There's only a slight pause before Aiba says yes and closes the car door behind him gently. The sound of soft purr of engine fills the silence and Sho waits. 

“Stop me if you need to,” Ohno says as he shifts to press himself closer to Sho’s side. The hand reaching up to touch Sho’s cheek is firm and warm, but his gasp and voice are cold and shaky. “Please.” 

Sho sighs and shuts his eyes to let pleasant heat spreading through him. Ohno’s lips are cold but wet, coaxing as patiently as the man has been tonight to have Sho open his mouth for him. 

When Sho sighs into the kiss, Ohno presses closer and slides his hand around Sho’s waist and clings with a grip, pulling Sho towards him. Sho’s hand finds Ohno’s shoulder before snaking up to hold the Ohno’s nape, intending to keep the man right there and never stop kissing him. 

Sho leans back slightly first, breathless, feeling brave, and chuckling, whispering, “Satoshi-kun.”

Ohno hums approvingly before surging forward and locking his lips with Sho in a more passionate kiss. His leg shifts to rub against Sho’s knees before sliding up on Sho’s lap. 

Everything is warm and Sho doesn’t want this to end, but he needs to. He squirms, both wanting to let go yet stay close to Ohno. He rubs Ohno’s nape and gives short tugs until the deep kiss turns into soft pecks. He gives Ohno one last kiss on the cheek. “Have a good night, and thank you.”

“Till next time,” Ohno says, hand framing Sho’s face, landing one last peck. 

 

 

Only after Sho returns from his work trip to Korea two weeks later that he finally replies Ohno’s message, letting Ohno know that he’s now back in Tokyo. Sho takes a picture of himself at the NTV building entrance, and sends it to Ohno with a caption _Back at the office headquarters for now_.

Ohno has been constant in sending Sho snapshots while Sho was away. Almost all of them were taken seriously, focusing on the drawing on any surface. Some of them were caricatures of Ohno’s day—of Ohno himself slouching in the floor trying to mold his new batch of clay dolls; some of them are random little animals doing cartwheels or even making funny faces, and few of them are life-like charcoal sketches of Sho’s side profile.

Sho most of the time cannot find the answer he wants to give—if only he could draw, or have a decent drawing skill—and gives up. He scrolls the special folder on his phones every night, hugging his pillow with a wide smile in his face. 

Sho later thanks Ohno when he talks to the man over the phone. Yet Ohno never presses for anything and seems to understand that Sho appreciates his sketches even without a reply. There are days when they talk about their days—mostly when Sho is awake enough after a long day of work. Slowly and steadily they begin to set their routine, feeling comfortable with the space they are giving each other. 

The next morning, Sho is enjoying his coffee while considering which household chores he needs to tackle first today when the thought of Ohno comes floating in mind.

He misses Ohno.

Not his heartfelt messages, not his soft voice over the phone, but the presence of the man near him.

Ohno is in Fukuoka for his upcoming exhibition until next week, and the last time they talked on the phone was days ago. Sho puts down his coffee and ends up staring at his upturned phone on the table. 

Sho has always been careful, extremely careful, with his past relationships, which is probably one of the reasons he has never been able to maintain one for a while, with his work being another. Ohno has been nothing but kind and understanding. 

Sho sometimes worries that he is giving Ohno the impression that he is taking this relationship for granted but he is certainly not. He’s more than thankful to Ohno for dealing with his moods, for always making the decision when Sho is doubtful of himself.

He really misses Ohno.

He unlocks his phone and glosses over his recent call history. And without giving himself time to reconsider his decision, Sho taps Ohno’s contact.

After several rings, Ohno’s voice comes to answer. “Sho-kun?”

“Hi,” Sho manages to say, his heart clenching over the concern that laced the greeting. “I’m sorry to call you out of the blue.”

“It’s okay,” Ohno replies. There are muffled voices in the background followed by the sound of Ohno moving to another space where it’s completely silent. “Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine, I just—“

Ohno doesn’t say anything, just as usual, patiently waiting for Sho to finish talking.

“I just—” Sho sighs, and decides to be honest right off the start. “I just miss you.”

Ohno’s chuckles are music to his ears, and Sho finds himself smiling at the simple sound.

Ohno finally says. “How’s settling back at home after the trip going?”

“I’m not happy about going back to work at full speed, but I’ll get by.” Now this Sho can do. Talking about his day to Ohno has never been a problem for him. But right now Sho wants more. “Am I interrupting your meeting?”

“No, we’re just chatting after breakfast.” Ohno hums for a few second. “We’re setting up the space nicely here. Nino has all the shipments ready and we’re going to start displaying the pieces tomorrow.”

“You’ll be busy then,” Sho says. “And I should probably not bothering you so early in the morning.”

“I never have easy morning on an exhibition road show anyway, so your call is extremely welcome.”

Ohno always knows what to say; Sho grins widely. 

“Sho-kun?”

“Yes?”

“Stay over when I’m back in Tokyo?”

Ohno always drops unexpected invitation at random times; Sho is smiling as he asks, “Would that be okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know what my schedule will be like when you’re back,” Sho says. 

“How about I’ll contact you first in the afternoon? We can head back to my house whenever you’re done with work,” Ohno says. “I’ll be working at Nino’s office downtown for a few days after all. We can arrange something.”

Sho nods before he remembers that Ohno cannot see him. “Okay.”

“Now, I need to get back to the meeting,” Ohno says.

“Meeting?”

“Ah. I mean, chatting after breakfast.”

Sho laughs at the guilty tone. “So I _did_ interrupt your meeting.”

“They’ll be okay without me for a few minutes,” Ohno says, his voice bashful and light. “And I miss you too.”

“Have a good day,” Sho finally says when he can find his voice; feeling lighter and happier than minutes ago. He makes a mental note to welcome Ohno with a warm hug when he sees the man; he really really misses him. “I’ll see you next week.”

 

 

Once seated back at his desk, Sho lets his eyes closed for a minute while sighing heavily. The meeting has not been efficient at all. The producers have been so quick to dismiss the good ideas from the news staff that now they are not only losing good topics but also good sources.

He wanted to try some new approaches for the upcoming Japan Badminton’s. Instead of the standard news interview, he requested for more time visiting the training camp. Sure it would give him more work during the daytime, but Sho doesn’t mind. He is sure that it would bring a certain vibe of closeness and add flavor to his segment. 

The producers think otherwise.

He had planned to work overtime tonight on the prep work. There’s still some articles that he needs to read. There are some new clips that the archive sent him for perusing. But now since all his plans went out the window, Sho is out of his depth. 

He sighs again at the sight of stacks of paper in his desk. All the effort of research is for nothing—or at least they will stay nothing until he can work on new proposals and fight again in the next production meeting.

He reaches for his phone, scrolling through his notifications and clearing some not urgent work emails as he goes. He nearly gets to the bottom when he finds a message from Ohno.

_Let me know if you’re off work._

Sho stares at the message. It had come just when he’d been about to start the meeting and now it’s an hour later. He doubts that Ohno would still be interested in knowing that now he’s done with work. He has not forgotten about their planned date from their last conversation but today has put in him in a seriously foul mood. 

Instead of replying to the message, he calls Ohno instead. 

“Sho-kun?”

Sho can hear the hint of surprise and couldn’t help to feel slight guilty. “I’m truly sorry but I just read your message.”

Sho can hear Ohno’s chuckling softly on the other side of the line. “No worries. Nino is still keeping me here at the office.”

Ohno’s voice is so kind and Sho finds himself smiling despite his mood. “I’ll be done in half an hour or so. I know it’s late and I totally understand if you want to reschedule this for another night.”

“Ah,” Ohno says, “Tonight is okay.”

It’s already half past eleven, Sho notices as he glances at his watch. He has brought spare clothes with him so he can go straight to work tomorrow afternoon. But he would be nothing but a terrible company, solely wishing to drink his tiredness away.

Ohno chuckles again. “Or we can set that for another night, it’s okay. We can just have dinner somewhere and then I can take you home.” 

“No, no. I thought we’re going to—” Sho says and lets out a sigh, “It’s not important what I thought really, but—“

Ohno only hums and Sho can feel him waiting patiently on the end of the line. 

“I really— It has been a crappy fucking day, and—“

There’s another soft hum, and Sho makes his decision. 

“If you’re okay with terrible company, we can still go with our plan.”

“Okay,” Ohno says with a little laugh—and he sounds happy, appealingly, and Sho hopes he makes the right decision for the night, now that he’s smiling again. “What time can you be off? I’ll come and pick you up.”

Sho has never heard, or been offered, such proposition before he met Ohno and now that Ohno has done it several times it doesn’t mean that he’s already gotten used to it. “Ah—“

 

 

Aiba is already standing in wait outside the car, even in the cold spring night, when Sho jogs to reach the car that has been waiting for him in front of his office building. 

“I’m sorry for the delay,” Sho says in greeting.

Aiba beams his welcome before turning to open the car door for Sho. “No problem, Sakurai-san. We just got here. If you please.”

Sho slides into the car and finds Ohno half curled with his eyes closed on the other side of the back seat. “Hi.”

Ohno’s eyes flutter open and he smiles. “You’re here.”

“Yeah. Sorry for the wait, I had to write one last minute e-mail all of a sudden.”

Aiba has settled behind the wheel, and sets on for the drive. “Straight home, Sir?”

“Yes, Aiba-chan. Thank you,” Ohno says, before turning to Sho with a smile. “No problem. I am just a bit tired since Nino couldn’t shut up about the Hawaii promotion trip.”

Sho reaches to hold Ohno’s hand in support and because he wants to. Ohno looks so grumpy now, using a petulant tone, one Sho hasn’t heard before, completely different from the man who talked to him over the phone with a soft and amused voice earlier. “And you’re already starting to work for another one after that?”

“Yeah, the one in Shanghai,” Ohno says, twining his fingers with Sho and pulls the man a bit to his side. 

Sho smiles as he scoots to settle on the center of the backseat, the side of his thigh meeting Ohno’s knees. “Very busy.”

“Nino keeps making me come up to the city. I have two paintings back home that need work,” Ohno grumbles softly.

Sho chuckles at this new discovery, and presses their side closer.

They spend the rest of the drive in a comfortable silence. Ohno dozes lightly, with Sho staring at his sleeping face fondly, Ohno’s head partially on his shoulder, and their hands entwine.

The drive takes longer than Sho expected. So Ohno’s home is a bit far from the city? Not a bit, Sho concludes, when Aiba keeps on driving steadily.

“Aiba-san, which part of Tokyo is this?” Sho finally cannot curb his curiosity.

“West,” Aiba promptly answers.

Sho frowns at the answer. He is not very familiar with this area but they are quite far from the center of Tokyo. “How west?”

Aiba chuckles at the question. “Quite west. Almost Kunitachi west but not that far west. We’ll be arriving in a few minutes.”

Sho tries to make of the passing scenery but nothing is familiar. Ohno lives in the opposite side of Tokyo? He tries to keep his questions to himself as he waits for them to reach their destination. 

The car turns to a short driveway and stops in front of a house with tall evergreen shrubs. “We’re home, Sir,” Aiba announces. 

Sho gives their joined hands a shake to help wake Ohno, and receives a soft grunt.

Aiba gets out of the car and walks around to open Sho’s door. As cool night air hits his face, Sho slides out, his hand tugging sleepy Ohno to follow him before letting go. 

Sho stands in awe beside the car door as he takes in his surroundings. The house is large with something simple and welcoming about it.

“Aiba-chan, if you please with the boxes,” Ohno says as he stands beside Sho, his palms rubbing his face. 

Aiba nods and closes the car door. “I’ll deal with them, Sir.”

Ohno’s hand rubs on Sho’s arm as he walks first toward the door, leading the way. Sho follows him silently and gasps when the door is opened just as Ohno steps into the front entrance.

“Welcome home, Ohno-sama,” a man in a tuxedo greets Ohno with a slight bow. Ohno only hums his answer and goes inside, leaving Sho with no choice but to walk into the house after him.

“And you must be Sakurai Sho-san, the red painting man,” the man greets him, eyeing Sho with interest. “Welcome to Ohno’s house.” 

“Matsujun, be nice and don’t scare him,” Ohno says as he begins to discard his coat and take off his shoes.

“I am nothing but polite and proper,” the man replies with hints of irritation in his voice. “The name is Matsumoto, at your service.”

At loss of what his answer should be, Sho settles for a soft “Nice to meet you.”

Ohno turns and sees Sho is still transfixed over Matsumoto in his full butler attire. He smiles as he puts his coat on top of the shoes cabinet. “We should go inside.”

“Your slippers, Sakurai-san,” Matsumoto says, pointing at the pair next to Ohno’s. “And may I take your coat and bags?”

Sho is overwhelmed by everything at once, so he does what seems to be easier first. He hands his bags to Matsumoto and shrugs of his coat before awkwardly handing them to the man.

Ohno is already waiting for him, hand outstretched, when Sho has his slippers in place. “Come on. You must be starving.”

Leaving his belongings on Matsumoto’s hand, Sho takes Ohno’s hand and follows him to enter the living room. The space is invitingly warm, cluttered but neat, but what stops Sho in his tracks is the red painting from the exhibition welcoming him. Now with minimal stand lighting, _silver sixpence_ is the main point of the living room wall, radiating both a welcoming aura and intriguing quality.

“Oh.”

And Sho must have been standing still staring at it because Ohno turns to him and smiles. “Sho-kun. Over here.”

There’s an impressive spread of appetizer dishes on a small dining table and the kitchen smells heavenly. Sho only then realizes how hungry he is and, following Ohno’s lead, he takes a seat and waits.

“We’re having curry rice. I hope you don’t mind,” Ohno says. ”Beer?”

“I like curry rice.” Sho is still awkward, hands folded on his lap. “And beer would be fine.”

Matsumoto returns to the kitchen to prepare the dish for them. He frowns as he takes one long look at Ohno holding a glass and reaching to the fridge. “I can do that for you, Ohno-sama.”

“I got it,” Ohno says, waving his hand while still clutching a glass. “Thank you for all this.”

“You're most welcome,” Matsumoto bows to Ohno after settling the last of the plates on the dining table, knowing a dismissal when he receives it. He turns to also bow to Sho. “I’d be taking my leave then. Enjoy the food and I hope you both have a pleasant evening.”

“Thank you,” Sho replies the bow awkwardly. He watches Matsumoto leaves the kitchen and turns somewhere. He can’t help it and inquires, “You have a butler?”

“Yeah, I do,” Ohno says with a satisfied smile since he’s already put everything in the table and they are ready to eat. “He’s more than just one though. He takes care of the house and everything.” 

“Oh.”

“He can be a bit intimidating, but that might be just the face.” Ohno chuckles, mistakenly taking Sho’s confusion for nervousness around his butler. He turns to Sho who is still looking confused. “Is there something wrong?”

“You have a butler. I never met anyone who has a butler.”

Ohno laughs. “Well, it was never my personal choice. He sort of comes with the family. And I can be very helpless with household chores. This house would be falling apart in shambles if it weren’t for Matsujun.”

“You can’t be that bad.”

Ohno lets out another chuckle. “Well, I’m pretty bad. That much I know.” 

Sho only nods, now that his confusion is cleared, and stares at all the spread on the table. “Looks delicious.”

“Matsujun is an amazing cook.”

Sho takes the beer glass from Ohno and sets to eat. Warm food, warm company, even in his surprise and confusion. He sets all those for the food and the company next to him. Gone is the sleepy and grumpy Ohno, now he has the excited host next to him, and Sho is smiling contently. 

 

 

“Do you want something else?”

“I'm good. Thank you.” Sho is full and content and warm and now he can see that Ohno is visibly nervous. And he is also nervous but it's okay, they can be nervous together. But first Sho needs to ask Ohno something. “Can we go to your living room for a while?”

Ohno seems confused with the request but nods his agreement. He rises from his seat and heads to the living room. When Ohno turns to the couch direction, Sho reaches out to hold his hand and stops him. “Satoshi-kun.”

“Yes?”

They are standing facing each other in the middle of the living room. Sho takes one step closer, and says, “I truly don’t deserve you.”

Ohno close their distance, pressing their bodies together in quick move. His arms circle Sho’s waist to keep him close. “I’m not going to—“

“I’m not done,” Sho silences Ohno, framing the worried face with his hands. “I’m far from done. Hear me out first?”

Ohno still stares at Sho with a pout but he nods. 

“I’m not good with relationships. I'm rusty. I’m tactless on my best days,” he says softly. “I’m also most of the time too absorbed in my work and forget about those who care about me. You are a sweet person and I don’t think I will ever deserve you.”

The hands around Sho’s waist tighten, holding on, grounding him, so Sho can continue.

“You said you painted this after you met me.”

Ohno finally smiles at that, and together they turn their head to see the painting. 

“It was impolite and ungrateful of me that night to not thank you properly.” Sho’s hand reaches up to touch Ohno’s nape, finding it soft just as he imagined. “So, thank you. Thank you for having me, for taking care of me these past months.”

Ohno’s soft answer is like a prayer, his eyes giving all the answer Sho needs. “Sho-kun—“

Sho finally leans down for a kiss, meeting Ohno’s demand wholeheartedly. He openly moans against Ohno’s lips in complete surrender as their kisses deepen. They only part briefly for air while Sho is already trying to keep Ohno’s lips against his. 

“Your lips,” Ohno whispers breathlessly. “I’ve been dreaming about your lips since the last time I kissed you.”

Sho whines loudly as Ohno gives a sharp nip to his bottom lip. He’s warm and pliant in Ohno’s arms, but he knows that they need to move soon. “Satoshi-kun.”

Ohno is busy kissing Sho’s jaw and only hums in response. 

“Bedroom. Please.”

Ohno leans back and meets Sho’s gaze, finding the open look of burning desire and want. He presses closer one last time, kissing Sho’s senseless one last time, swallowing Sho’s whine, before stepping back. “Come on.”

Their lips meet in desperate moves before Sho yelps in surprise as Ohno unceremoniously grabs him by the waist and drops them both to bed. He’s about to tease Ohno for being impatient when Ohno climbs on top of him and slides his hand to the front of Sho’s trousers teasingly. 

Sho throws his head back and moans; it has been a long while for him and now he wants nothing but Ohno’s hands touching him everywhere, now he wants nothing but his hands touching Ohno everywhere.

“Get these off,” Sho demands, yanking Ohno’s sweater before reaching down to tug on his belt. “I want to touch you.”

Breathlessly, Ohno laughs when Sho’s hand tickles his side, “You are touching me, Sho-kun.” 

Sho pouts and push Ohno off of him. “That’s not what I mean.”

Ohno leans back down to kiss the pout off Sho’s lips before finally obliging. At the first sight of Sho’s toned chest, Ohno has to stop unbuckling his belt and dive forward to land more kisses. When Sho cries out his surprise, Ohno continues his way up, nipping Sho’s collarbone and licking the side of his neck. With his hands holding Sho’s head in place, buried in his hair, Ohno breathes, “What do you mean then?” 

“You, naked.” Sho’s writhing with impatience under Ohno, and moans again as Ohno keeps their gaze locked and denies his wish.

Ohno growls at the open submission and finally lets Sho go. Sho’s eyes follow Ohno’s movement hungrily as the man shifts to stand beside the bed, discarding the rest of his clothes slowly. He leaves his boxer on and turns to the bedside drawer to get lube and a condom. 

Sho watches Ohno crawl back to the center of the bed and kneel between Sho’s spread legs. He leans to land another kiss, one Sho accepts gratefully because Sho feels like he is burning all over. Everything is so hot he almost can’t take it. He whines, “You’re still not naked.”

“I will be when you ride me,” Ohno purrs against Sho’s panting lips, swallowing Sho’s excited moans eagerly. “Let me take care of you first.”

Ohno slides down leaving trails of wet kisses and electrifying licks as he goes and Sho gasps for air, clutching the sheets for purchase, as Ohno begins to tease. Sho whimpers his impatience when Ohno presses one finger before Ohno carefully adds another, moving them slower than Sho would have wanted. 

“Satoshi.”

Ohno hisses as Sho cants his hips up to beg for more, and finally gives in. He gives Sho’s cock one long wet lick before pressing in another finger and leaning down to swallow. 

Sho’s hand finds the back of Ohno’s head, clinging and pushing for more. He wants more. Ohno makes him want so much more. Soon Ohno begins to give him more, adding pressure and the steady push of his fingers timed to match as he moved Sho in and out of his eager mouth. 

His hand tightly tangles in Ohno’s hair as Sho clings to the sensation, riding wave after wave of dark pleasure. He clutches Ohno’s hair tighter, hips moving, letting the man know that he’s close, just a little bit more, And then Ohno lifts his head and stops all his ministration. 

Sho can only moan, “Fuck,” before opening his eyes and finding Ohno shifting above him. Ohno only silently leans forward to give him a kiss before moving to the side of the bed to take off his boxers, finally naked in front of Sho.

When Ohno crawls back to the center of the bed, he reaches to pull down Ohno into a messy kiss, pressing their bodies close together, before tackling Ohno down to the bed and in turn hovering close. The view from above is exhilarating now that Sho has Ohno ready under him. Sho sees Ohno’s uneven breaths, the open want, flushed face, all for him and only him.

Sho shivers when Ohno runs his hand encouragingly against Sho’s hips, and yelps, jerking with surprise that turns quickly into delight, when Ohno without warning lands a loud slap on his left ass cheek. 

“You like that,” Ohno says, reading Sho’s reaction perfectly, as he rubs his palm on the spot soothingly. 

Sho moans because just then the sting from the slap spreads warmly. And, yes, he liked it. 

“I’ll give you more later.” Ohno is nearly growling, “Now ride me.”

Giddy of the promise of more—more spanks, more maddening pleasure, more of Ohno—Sho wastes no time to arrange himself on top of Ohno and slowly sink down with a groan, relishing and savoring the amazing fullness in him.

He has just begun to move his hip in shallow movements when Ohno thrusts his hips upward in demand. With his hand scratching, holding on desperately, on Ohno’s chest, Sho starts rolling his hips in time with Ohno fucking into him. 

Together they create their own erotic rhythm. Sho is dizzy with breathless lust, his hand moving around his cock, and Ohno just takes and takes and takes everything Sho is willing to give. 

Ohno’s continuous groan is intoxicating and Sho cannot get enough of it. He cries out when Ohno thrusts harder and faster, clenches on the cock he’s riding, and watch in fascination as Ohno’s orgasm hits with full force, not caring if he’s taking Sho with him. 

Sho is breathless, not able to believe that Ohno has just let himself loose into pleasure right below of him. He’s been holding back but now with Ohno shaking below him, barely able to keep himself in check. When Ohno opens his eyes, lidded with warm satisfaction, Sho moans his last wish. “Watch. This is for you.”

Sho is so hard and he doesn’t hold back, stroking himself just the way he likes it, with Ohno still inside him softening but still rocking with his movements. He grunts and whines as he gets closer and closer. And then Ohno lands another slap on his ass and Sho cries out, his eyes open now, finding Ohno is watching him with awe of the sight above him. 

Ohno keeps delivering random slaps as Sho quickens the pace of his hand, chasing his pleasure madly. When Sho is just right there, so close, Ohno thrusts his hips up, giving Sho the momentum, kneading Sho’s ass just to spread all the pain perfectly. He gasps, “Come.” 

And that tone is exactly what Sho needed, and he comes, spurting all over Ohno’s stomach, hot waves of pleasure coursing through him.

Sho only partially feels Ohno’s hand rubbing comfortingly before Ohno turns them to lie on their sides. Sho is still wheezing when Ohno gets the wit first, sliding out carefully and getting to go to the bathroom. He returns to bed only to see Sho is still in the same position, legs spread, covered in his own come, hair messy and eyes still glazed with pleasure. 

“This might be a bit cold. Sorry,” Ohno says softly as he begins to wipe Sho’s stomach clean.

Sho only grunts again, letting his hands down to the side. Ohno smiles at that, and as soon as the cloth is out of the way, he reaches back to meet Sho’s embrace. 

They move themselves to the welcoming pillows, and Ohno lets out a sigh with happiness when he manages to get both of them situated. Sho’s hips are throbbing, his eyes heavy with fatigue, but he can feel the satisfied grin forming on his face as he meets Ohno’s gaze.

Ohno shifts slightly and gets them settled more comfortably under the covers now. “Okay?” 

Sho cannot help to reach out, touching Ohno’s cheek gently. “More than.”

“Good,” Ohno says, his eyes closing. 

Sho smiles widely with his heart fluttering with happiness. He takes a closer look at Ohno’s now peaceful face. The pouty mouth is slightly open as soft breaths steadily puff warm air out. Gone is the usual frown on Ohno’s face, gone is the usual easy smiles, now only faint lines and the relaxed look of his cheeks covered his face. 

He must have sighed loud enough to pull Ohno back to consciousness, as the man flutters his eyes open to meet Sho’s frown. He blinks blearily before shifting closer, pressing his body against Sho’s chest. 

Sho’s arm wraps around Ohno’s waist in reflex, letting himself sag into the soft bed, losing the tension he’s held inside. Ohno hums, satisfied, before snuggling even closer. With that Sho closes his eyes, smiling, and lets himself be taken by slumber.

They will stumble sleepily to the bathroom for a quick shower with post-sex giggles and all later. They will curl back on the bed afterward, and Ohno will whispers, “I’m not done with you,” while rubbing the small of Sho’s back in comfort as he drifts to sleep.

 

 

In the morning, Sho pads his way into the living room only to stop short with surprise. “Holy shit!” 

He knows that he hasn’t seen the whole house, arriving late at night and having his sole focus on Ohno, but the view in front of him is quite spectacular. With the glass doors on the side of the living room wide open, his vision is filled with the vast green garden and the sight of a mountain far ahead. The sky is clear and the morning sun and a cool breeze filters pleasantly into the room.

The sound of someone clearing his throat startles him and has Sho turning around, finding Matsumoto in his pristine tuxedo watching him with interest.

Sho’s embarrassment only increases tenfold when he remembers that he’s wearing nothing but his ratty sweatpants. 

“Would you like me to fetch you a shirt?” Matsumoto offers with a clear hint of amusement in his voice. “Or perhaps coffee first?” Matsumoto then says, out of pity.

“Coffee will be great,” Sho says weakly.

“Please be seated. I’ll pour you one.”

He is left with no choice but to walk into the kitchen, taking a seat at the same chair he sat on for supper last night, and fidgets.

“Here you go.” Matsumoto places a steaming hot coffee mug in front of him. The scent is heavenly and it almost makes Sho forget his earlier embarrassment.

“Sugar or cream?”

“No, thanks,” Sho says before immediately taking a small sip. “Oh, this is good.”

Matsumoto only nods, with a small smile. “Would you also like a simple breakfast? I can arrange some eggs really quickly.”

Sho is still in his caffeine heaven so he forgets his earlier embarrassment. “If it’s not too much of a bother—”

“Coming right up,” Matsumoto says before turning towards the stove and setting up a frying pan. 

For a few moments, the only sound in the kitchen is the sound of the eggs in the pan. Soon, Matsumoto swiftly arranges a plate of eggs and slides it to Sho. He arranges salt and pepper shakers after setting a fork and napkin.

“Sakurai-san, if I offended you in any way last night, I truly apologize,” Matsumoto says, his eyes serious. “Ohno-sama never has an overnight guest, so I can only hope you pardon my inexperience.”

Sho blushes at the concealed information, his hand clutching on his coffee mugs. “I’m not offended in any way. I know that I might be intruding—“

“You’re not. Clearly you are here upon his invitation, and the fault is all mine if you deem that I have failed to behave properly in front of a special guest.”

“Ah, about that—”

Matsumoto lets out a small smile. “You do know you are special, right?”

Sho tries to smile back at Matsumoto; at least it’s better than to bury his face in his palms. “I guess.”

Matsumoto nods at him, appears to be pleased with Sho’s answer. “He has asked me to record ZERO on your appearance days, and had requested for recommendations of good private restaurants in Tokyo when he rarely eats out.”

Sho blinks in surprise. 

“So, you don’t have to guess. You _are_ special,“ Matsumoto says again with a smile, genuine this time. “Now please eat your eggs before it gets cold.”

“Ah, thank you,” Sho mutters. He’s glad for distraction because he knows that he’s burning red right now. 

Sho was on his way to have his first bite when Ohno shuffles sleepily into the kitchen. 

“Matsujun, I told you to be nice,” he says, standing beside Sho and putting one hand on Sho’s back gently. “Or were you talking trash about me?”

Matsumoto takes a quick glimpse of Ohno appearing from the bedroom and is visibly holding back his smile. “Why of course all trash talk over breakfast.”

Sho smiles, with bread in his mouth. 

Ohno’s warm arm snakes to circle Sho’s waist. “Don’t trust anything this one says about me.”

Sho laughs at that knowing perfectly well that he has to disagree with Ohno here because he trusts Matsumoto on this one.

Matsumoto rolls his eyes and turns around. “Can I get anything else beside coffee for you?” 

“Just coffee’s fine.” Ohno shrugs and settles on the chair next to Sho’s. Closes his eyes again, he leans toward Sho and presses against his side. 

Matsumoto slides an empty mug in front of Ohno before filling it. He tops Sho’s half empty mug while he’s at it. After he slides a basket of fresh bread and a plate of assorted fruits over, he bows his leave-taking politely. “Ring me if you need anything else.”

“Thank you Matsumoto-san,” Sho says, finding his voice clear this time. For all the attitude and sternness, Sho now knows that Matsumoto only wants the best for Ohno. 

Matsumoto bows again, lower this time. “Likewise, Sakurai-san. Enjoy the breakfast.”

Ohno doesn’t ask further but he calls out to Matsumoto when he’s almost out of the kitchen. “Matsujun, what time is Aiba-chan going?”

“At noon, I suppose.”

“Ask him to stop by here first, will you?”

“Yes, Sir.” Matsumoto nods, even if he’s a bit confused. He gives one last bow before going with his duty elsewhere.

 

 

Back in the bedroom, Ohno is already clothed with his oldest t-shirt and jeans sitting cross-legged on the bed and watches Sho doing his tie and getting ready for work.

“Aiba-chan is going downtown. He can drive you.”

Sho stops his hand movement and turns to see Ohno’s staring at him. “I can easily take the train or a taxi.”

“He needs to do a delivery to Nino’s office anyway.” 

“You are arranging that on purpose,” Sho says, and finds the answer immediately as he sees Ohno flinches at his words. “Satoshi-kun.”

Ohno avoids looking at Sho cutely and Sho could only sighs. 

“I just—”

“What?”

“I invited you all the way here, and it’s going to take you an hour to go to work, and I don’t want to have—“

“We will talk about this later,” Sho says. “But I don’t mind taking a train to get here. It’s far from Minato, I know, but I want to be here. So, you don’t have to do so much next time.”

“So there’s another next time,” Ohno says with a grin.

“You are not listening to my point.”

“But I was listening. And yes, I’d let you enjoy the insane commute rush hour next time.”

Sho laughs at that. He fixes his tie one last time before turning to walk toward the bed. He drops to his knees between Ohno’s now spread legs. When Ohno shifts to reach him, Sho puts his hand on Ohno’s thighs. “It’s nearly noon, there’s no rush hour.”

Ohno pouts. “You don’t know that.”

Sho laughs again, this time with leaning down to capture Ohno’s pouting lips and kiss him. He is rather breathless when he leans back to end the kiss. “Call me later?”

“I will,” Ohno says with his hands still around Sho refusing to let go easily. “From Hawaii.”

“I’m so jealous that you get to enjoy some sun and sea.”

“I asked you to come with me.”

“That doesn’t solve anything,” Sho says with a chuckle. “You’d be so busy with your meeting anyway.”

“I’ll get on that snorkeling tour even if I had to face Nino’s wrath and all.”

Sho doesn’t say anything, only to lean forward again to give a longer and deeper kiss. When Ohno finally lets him go, Sho drops one last peck on his cheek. “Safe trip.”

 

 

“I didn’t realize we were this far out from downtown,” Sho mutters, as the car made it’s way to the tollway entrance. “Light traffic so far though.”

“We might hit a bit of traffic, but mostly it’ll be light,” Aiba says reassuringly.

Sho nods. “I think I need to note the name of the station later. I didn’t even know where to go if I’m going again next time.”

Same with Ohno, Aiba lights up at the words. “I’m glad to hear that. Ah, I mean not the part when you don’t know where to go, but that there’s a next time.”

“Yeah, I heard that one before.”

Aiba chuckles and they are now entering the toll. They are silent for a while, with Sho looking outside the window to orient himself with the area. 

“Sakurai-san,” Aiba says after a long ten minutes of silence.

“Yes?”

Aiba seems to try to choose his words correctly, and Sho can guess what the man’s going to say—mostly what Matsumoto has said in the morning—but Aiba is more subtle. “Since we’re going to meet often enough, there’s no need to be formal.”

“Have you been talking to Matsumoto-san?” Sho has to ask because the course of this conversation reminds him of the one he had with Matsumoto said earlier in the morning. 

“Excuse me?”

Sho turns his head and watches Aiba’s concentration still on the road but with a visible honest frown of confusion. “Never mind,” he says with a smile. 

As the car goes closer downtown, Sho is left in his thoughts. 

For the first time in a long time, Sho feels a bit lost but excited all the same. He has such an efficient life, and the freedom he treasures so much, but now him being driven by a kind chauffeur, having his breakfast served by a primp butler and receiving a parting kiss before he heads to work, he is not sure anymore. He hasn’t planned for any of this. He has no further plan for this in the near future. How is Ohno going to fit in his life from now on? How would everything affect his life? 

But also for the first time in a long time, Sho doesn’t mind at all.

 

 

Under pretense of participating in celebrating Okada’s return from his successful Tokyo Film Festival ceremony coverage—and simply because Sho doesn’t feel like continuing to reject the man’s insistent invitation anymore—Sho finally agrees on a late lunch together at the network cafeteria. 

He arrives just right on time to see that Okada is nowhere to be found. A quick check to his inbox shows that the man has texted him few minutes ago to say that he will be late. 

Sitting on the corner table of the cafeteria, Sho orders iced tea and decides to wait while fiddling with his phone. He hasn’t heard anything from Ohno for the last two days but the last time they spoke at the end of a day, Ohno had told him about his new painting project. 

He idly scrolls through his picture folder, on his specially designated for photos from Ohno, his _Satoshi-kun_ folder. Ohno’s habit in sending cute doodles continues as months passed by. They cannot meet often due to the intensity of both of their projects but Sho is already used to general radio silence for a day or two when Ohno is deep in the zone while working at his studio. 

Ohno has patiently waited for Sho to be able to reply to his texts and calls when the day ends after all. 

Sho startles as a shadow falls upon him, looking up and seeing Okada’s big grin aimed at him. “You don’t need to sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry,” Okada says, clearly without actual intention to apologize. “You’re enjoying whatever you’re seeing on your phone too much.”

Sho sets his phone aside and watches Okada settle in front of him. “Can we get some food now? I’m starving and I need to be back in 50 minutes for a briefing.”

“Sho, at least allow me to enjoy this time I’m going to have with you. It has been a long while since we’ve eaten out together.”

Sho only stares at Okada in silence, mentally counting the seconds and says, “49 minutes.”

Okada rolls his eyes, and mutters, “Always so strict.”

Sho ignores the complaint and stands up to get the last of lunch sets. They return to their table with their tray of food and then begin to partake their food in comfortable silence.

Sho has imagined that their lunch would be filled with Okada’s lively stories from his trip, or that he would have to deal with all the usual playful advances and endless teasing. He certainly is not expecting this comfortable calm and quiet.

“Are you feeling fine today?” he asks. 

Sho catches sight of a brief flicker of surprise on Okada’s face before the man pumps up his charms with an easy grin. “Why you ask? Are you finally giving into the my temptation?”

“I can’t do that. I am seeing someone.“ It is said in a mostly light tone but once Sho said it, he can’t hold back his smile. It feels so good to be able to say it out loud. “I was just wondering why you’re so quiet today.”

“I see.” Setting his spoon slowly, Okada tilts his head in amusement. “I guess I should have seen it coming. Lately I had a feeling that it is somehow not fitting to be teasing you as usual.”

“What?”

“You’ve been smiling more often, Sho,” Okada says. He stares in Sho’s eyes as if he’s waiting for a reaction other than a confirmation. “I can almost hate you for being disgustingly happy.”

Sho tries to shrug lightly in answer but Okada has a point. “I guess I am.”

Okada stares at him in silent for a long minute before offers him a smile. “Congratulations then.”

“Thank you.”

“We can still be friends, right?” Okada smiles at him teasingly.

Sho smiles sweetly. “We were never more than that.” 

“That hurts.” Okada clutches his chest dramatically before his smirk returns. “But I’ll get over it. No, got over it, past tense.”

Sho laughs at that. He might miss Okada’s teasing from now on but he’ll get by.

 

 

That night, the talk he had with Okada during lunch sets Sho thinking.

Ohno makes him happy. The man has continued to take Sho out for late suppers before they spend the night together. Nothing more or longer than an overnight date but everything's going fine. The sex is nothing but great. Sho is still awkward with the household but now he has gotten closer with Aiba and has begun to understand Matsumoto’s over protectiveness for Ohno. 

It feels damn good to be pampered, especially since he is very exact and has not been taking care of himself. Sure, he doesn’t feel those fuzzy butterflies right away. Nothing significantly changed after that day Ohno asked him on their first date. Nothing significantly changed after that steamy night they spent together. Work as usual, just a few stiff joints but nothing big. 

Ohno doesn’t appear to be trying so hard but everything he does is heartfelt and that wins a lot in Sho’s book. He feels wanted but he was given the freedom to work, focusing on his passion. Ohno clearly doesn’t want Sho to feel trapped by their relationship and it shows in his displays of affection. Ohno has made Sho feel like he has a place waiting for him. Ohno has accepted Sho as he is even if Sho fully aware that he doesn’t fall into a good partner-material category.

But, the question is, has he taken Ohno’s affection for granted? Has he, in return, made Ohno happy? 

Sho spends the night trying to focus on his homework without peeking at his phone screen every five minutes, waiting for Ohno’s call or even late night doodle that usually came just at the right time. He wants to ask, wants to talk randomly with the man, but nothing comes that night.

By Friday morning, and it has been four straight days without any words from Ohno, Sho decides to visit Ohno’s house instead. It is supposed to be a surprise even if Ohno has said that Sho is welcome to visit him anytime. He doesn’t have anything important the next morning, and he kind of misses Ohno and he just wants.

Sho finally has his chance to take the train. After work, he boards the half empty cart, watching in fascination of other people on their way home. 

It is a long ride as he goes across town to get to the station but he could partially see himself within this routine. The station is small and as good as deserted when he arrives. His walk to Ohno house is a bit disoriented but with the map on his phone he manages to reach Ohno’s house after making a wrong turn around the nearby park, and getting confused around the small shopping street near the station.

Matsumoto greets him at the door with surprise slightly concealed, but still welcomes Sho warmly. 

“He’s at work but I suppose you want to see him.” Matsumoto leads him to the west wing of the house. “And have you eaten? We’re having supper shortly in the kitchen. You are welcome to join us if you want.” 

_Us_? Sho frowns in confusion.

“Or if you’d rather have a shower first, we’ll wait for you. You know where everything is, I suppose.”

Sho doesn’t think much because now that Matsumoto mentioned it, he is dying to get out of his day suit. He takes the quickest shower, feeling refreshed in one of his shirts and sweatpants before he makes his way to the kitchen when he remembers what Matsumoto said about Ohno being at work. The west wing is basically half of the large house that has been customized as Ohno’s multi-purpose studio, where he works with all his artworks. 

Sho weighs his options; he doesn’t want to bother Ohno at work but Sho also wants to see him. He then decides to go to Ohno’s studio, halting at the door briefly before pushing the door open. 

The blaring light is almost blinding, in contrast with the dim hallway, and Sho has to blink several times before he gets used to the lighting. Ohno’s studio in order is impressive—Sho once was given a tour—but now in its chaotic and messy state, it is even more breathtaking. No more neat line of canvases against the wall, no more tidy work stations in the center of the large space, there are cans of paints, buckets of water, and scattered canvases on the floor.

And there is Ohno painting in deep concentration, in the middle of the room, hunched on top of a large white canvas, one leg stretched awkwardly and another leg curled.

So, Sho stands quietly by the door of Ohno studio, watching the man with awe, smiling fondly at the sight. He is partially hoping Ohno will look up and find him watching but at the same time he wants Ohno to be in the trance because the sight is utterly beautiful and heart wrenching.

Sho steps back, closing the door, and accepts. 

He makes his way to the kitchen, frowning at soft sounds of laughter coming from the direction. He is expecting company but he is still surprised to see Aiba, Ninomiya, and Matsumoto sitting down on the dining table, enjoying their supper lively.

Ninomiya spots him first, and waves at his direction. “Sakurai-san! Long time no see.”

Sho smiles at the easy welcome. Matsumoto immediately sets him a plate and soon Sho joins the party, partaking of the Indian food dishes Aiba has brought upon Matsumoto’s order when he took Ninomiya to the house earlier in the evening. 

“Ohno-san could go for days,” Aiba says as he scoops more rice to his plate. “I guess this is going to be another epic one.”

Matsumoto nods and adds, “But he’d been at it since yesterday night, so he’ll break soon.” 

“Or maybe you need to barge in, run an interception or something,” Ninomiya says, turning to Sho with a grin.

Sho frowns at the new revelation of Ohno’s working habit. “Has it always been that bad?” 

“Not really,” Matsumoto says. “But he can really be into it when he’s in the zone. It’s not our place to disturb him.”

Ninomiya waves his spoon toward Matsumoto. “Yet, last time you even called me at some ungodly hour.”

“Well, I was scared that he’d be dead by the end of the night.” Matsumoto says, apparently not bothered by Ninomiya’s teasing.

“So we then kinda did an interception thing—,” Aiba explains with fondness in his voice. “And got scolded for being such worrywarts.”

Supper ends up being a delightful distraction for Sho. They laugh, drinking their long day away. Nino teases Sho him about the possibility of having Sho treat him to a free lunch since his office is near the NTV building, while Matsumoto scolds Ninomiya for being shameless and Aiba laughs at their antics.

“It’s getting late. We should get going,” Aiba says to Ninomiya when he finishes his beer.

Nino nods his agreement and within minutes they are waving their goodbye to Sho, leaving him in the house with Matsumoto who strongly insisted that Sho does not need to help him with the dishes.

“You will have tea in the living room.” Matsumoto says, already walking to the stove to set the kettle. “Go on. I’ll bring them up when it’s ready.”

On his way to the living room, Sho gives Ohno’s bedroom down the hall a longing stare, having a mental discussion and finally settling against his wish to just curl up. 

After Matsumoto brings the promised tea and bidding him goodnight, Sho settles at the couch, without turning the TV on, and tries to work a little bit, while browsing aimlessly. 

The next thing he knows, he is curled asleep on the couch, his laptop settling dangerously on his chest. As he floats into consciousness slowly, he feels Ohno’s hand on his forehead. 

“I didn’t know you were here,” Ohno smiles sleepily, tiredly. “Hi.”

Sho jumps and stutters. “I came around dinner—and then you were working—so I thought I wait—and I was just here, I didn’t touch anything else.” 

Ohno chuckles. “Why are you in the couch, instead on the bed? You must be tired.”

Sho blinks his drowsy brain trying to say his reason to settle on the couch while waiting for Ohno. “I didn’t want to be a bother—“

“You never are.” Ohno runs his palm on Sho’s arm, spreading warmth. He sets Sho’s laptop on the table before grabbing a blanket from the far ottoman. “Scoot over.”

“Huh?” Sho wants to ask what time it is, why they are settling to sleep on the couch instead of moving to the bedroom, but his brain is so tired and all he wants is to hold Ohno and continue sleeping. “Okay.”

Ohno joins him, pressing close, and together they curl on the couch. Sho sighs when he feels Ohno wrap his hands around him, nuzzle on his nape, and falls back to sleep. Everything is peaceful and serene and Ohno’s breathing on his neck is warm and pleasant. Everything is in its place.

 

 

Sho wakes up at the sound of Ohno’s grumbling darkly and Matsumoto’s soft voice. He keeps his eyes closed as he listens to Matsumoto telling Ohno to at least use the bed because he will be giving himself a stiff neck for nothing. 

“I thought with the presence of Sakurai-san, you would prefer the use of the proper bed, Ohno-sama.”

“Matsujun. Go away.”

Sho opens his eyes and smiles as he sees the man roll his eyes at Ohno’s words.

“Who would make you coffee then? And, for your information, it’s almost 11.”

“Go away to make some coffee then,” Ohno says, correcting himself.

At the mention of the current time, Sho starts to untangle himself from Ohno, sending an apologetic look at Matsumoto, and runs his fingers through Ohno’s hair in reprimand. “Satoshi-kun.”

“What?” Ohno says petulantly, and groans when he opens his eyes and sees Sho’s disapproving glance. “Go away to make some coffee. Please.”

Matsumoto huffs with a smile, and strides into the kitchen.

“Happy now?” Ohno mumbles sleepily.

Sho smiles and drops a kiss on to Ohno’s hair. “Very.”

They have the house for themselves after breakfast, with Matsumoto leaving for the weekend. After showering and settling for a quiet morning with Sho clearing his work email inbox and muting it for the weekend, with Ohno taking short dozes next to him on the couch, they come to a decision to go out to get dinner from a nearby place Ohno recommends. 

They were walking slowly through quiet neighborhood toward the station when something catches Sho’s attention. He stops right then right there and looks up to the horizon. The sky is gorgeous in its early dusk, clashes of orange clouds and pale blue. This doesn't feel like Tokyo any more, like he’s somewhere where he can take comforting long breath and have all the time in the world where he can enjoy the day. 

“Sho-kun?” 

Sho looks ahead and finds Ohno a few steps ahead of him, a hint of smile on his face. He patiently waits for Sho to come to him, standing there with his down jacket, old jeans and a hat, completely unrecognizable as the top Japanese art figure. 

Apparently Ohno catches something in Sho’s eyes because he takes a step forward, bringing them close together. They are on the side of the public park nearby, outside in a bright afternoon, and Ohno looks at him with so much sureness and care. 

“Sho-kun?” Ohno repeats, softer this time. “Something on your mind?”

“I made a wrong turn around this park last night.”

Ohno’s face blooms with a wide smile. “Oh?”

“And the sky is beautiful here,” Sho adds. 

Ohno chuckles at the random thoughts, but Sho knows he understands. Sho is grateful that Ohno understands. “And is it a good thing?”

“I think it is.” Sho says. “I know it is.”

“Good,” Ohno says. He reaches to give Sho’s arm a warm squeeze and leave his hold there. “You don’t get this in downtown Tokyo, do you?”

“I don’t get you in downtown Tokyo,” Sho corrects him. That’s why I’m here, he wants to add but he can only look down to the ground to hide his flush instead.

Ohno tugs Sho’s hand playfully.

Sho looks up and finds Ohno’s easy smile. The man sounds certain enough for both of them. So what if they haven’t yet put a name onto whatever they have now. So what if from now on he probably has to commute for a full hour during the insane rush hour to return to Ohno’s side. So what if he stays busy and Ohno stays busy and they are only able to make limited precious time to spend with each other. Sho feels like he could withstand anything as long as Ohno is next to him, and he is sure of one thing: “I want to see you more.” 

“There’s more every day.” Ohno says, now his hand reaching out to hold Sho’s hand. “With you.”

Sho beams with pleasure as he welcomes the pleasant warmth running up his cheeks openly this time. 

“Now, can we go to my favorite _gyoza_ place and have greasy delicious dinner?”

Sho bumps onto Ohno’s shoulder, laughing loudly at Ohno’s cheeky grin and the sudden change of topic. He decides to leans forward to steal a fleeting kiss right then and there simply because he is disgustingly happy. When he pulls back, he smiles widely at Ohno’s astounded expression and says, “Gladly.”


End file.
